Secrets Of Las Cinco Muertes
by Raptorguy19
Summary: In this mash-up of novel, movie, and Jurassic World: Alive canon, the Las Cinco Muertes chain, briefly mentioned in The Lost World, are explored. InGen famously used Isla Sorna as their "Site B" factory floor for the original Jurassic Park, but what did they use the other islands for? Genetic experimentation? Other nefarious schemes? Find out in Secrets Of Las Cinco Muertes!


Dr. Kyle Lawson wiped beads of sweat from his brow as he climbed a hill through the jungles of Isla Matanceros. The Central American island, part of the Las Cinco Muertes chain, hadn't seen a single human since the days of Fort Matanceros over 300 years ago. The ruins of this old fort had never been located, so that was what Lawson was attempting to do. The temperature had started off cool and the humidity was refreshing, but it quickly climbed to well over 100 degrees before noon. Lawson had done field work before, but never in a tropical climate like this. Even though he had been on the island for several days now, he cursed and reprimanded himself for underestimating the harshness of this godforsaken island.

A man in his early thirties, Kyle Lawson received his graduate degree in the history of the Americas at the esteemed Princeton University. He was a thickly built man with a well-kept beard, dark brown piercing eyes, thick but short jet black hair, and a commanding voice that could make anybody listen to him without question. He had centered most of his early post-university studies around the American Old West when he relocated to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Eventually, he grew bored of the relatively short history of the American West and focused instead on another topic that had fascinated him in college: the history of Central America. He relocated again, this time to the University of Texas in Austin, and began his work in earnest there. This had been just a year ago, and one historical tale in particular caught his attention and he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. That was why he was out here.

Holding a faded map that he had acquired from a local guide in Costa Rica, Lawson said, "The fort should be just over this rise here. Let's hope the third time's the charm."

The man Lawson was talking to, Ethan Conroy, gave him a thumbs up. "Good, Dr. Lawson. Good. I hope this is it, because I don't think I can go much farther." He sounded exhausted.

"Oh man up, Ethan," said Lawson. "You knew what you were getting yourself into when you volunteered to come on this expedition. You knew..." He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "You knew what we would have to endure to get to this point. You chose this."

"How amazing would it be if I could write my doctoral thesis on the discovery of a lost Spanish fort?" Ethan asked earnestly. "I can't think of a better way to start my professional career as an archaeologist."

"That's a lot of ambition you got there, kid," Lawson responded. "Careful. In this field, sometimes blind ambition can lead to disaster."

The two men climbed the rest of the hill in silence. When they reached the top, Lawson's jaw dropped. A thick canopy of trees covered the valley below, save for one small clearing not far from the base of the hill. A small river cut through the foliage and wound towards the ocean. Lawson picked up the map and held it straight out in front of his face. He looked at the panoramic view periodically, then back to the map. Back to the view, back to the map. This continued for several seconds, until finally...

"Aha!" Lawson exclaimed. "Ethan, you may be getting what you need for your thesis after all. Come look!"

"Yes, yes, it's a beautiful view," Ethan said unenthusiastically. "But what am I supposed to be looking at?"

"What..." Lawson stammered. "Ethan, are you not a graduate student? Do you not have even the most rudimentary of understandings of archaeology and the signs to look for? Here, take a look at this map. Tell me what you see."

Ethan looked over Lawson's shoulder at the map he was still holding in front of his face. "I see...Spanish writing that describes what to look for...oh. Oh my. It says here that the fort is in a valley overlooked by a steep hill with a river...by God, Dr. Lawson, we've done it!"

"Our work is not yet done," said Lawson, a smile creeping up on his face. "We still need to go down there and find the fort itself. But by the description on the map, I believe we've found the correct location. Now remember, this fort has been abandoned for over three centuries. The jungle reclaims her land very quickly, especially out here. The old InGen ruins on Sorna are already indiscernible by satellite imagery and they've only been abandoned for twenty or so years."

"Just the mention of InGen makes my skin crawl," Ethan said, shivering in fright. "All five of the Cinco Muertes islands were owned by InGen. Who knows what could be out here?"

"I told you before, Ethan..." Lawson groaned. "Sorna and Nublar were the only islands InGen used for their bioengineering project. But that's neither here nor there. Let's get down to that valley and find that fort."

The two men started their descent down the hill, but a strange noise made them pause. It sounded like a low rattling growl, something...other-worldly. Lawson grabbed the butt of the rifle strung along his back, ready to draw. The rattling growl came once more. Lawson and Ethan both shifted their gazes back and forth, scanning the jungle foliage for something, anything, to explain the noise. Neither man spoke a word. Ethan's breath came in short, panicked gasps. Lawson quickly turned to him and gestured for Ethan to breathe more normally. Ethan took a deep breath and tried to relax. The rattling growl had stopped. Lawson held up his hand as a signal to stay still for just a moment longer, then motioned forward for the two of them to continue.

Within minutes, they had reached the bottom of the hill. It was much shorter on its west side than its east side. Lawson pulled out a machete and began to hack his way through the jungle. He had given the map to Ethan, who periodically read directions in Spanish to Lawson as they made their way deeper into the island interior. Ethan periodically scanned the ground for artifacts, hoping they could identify the site of the fort that way. Another rattling growl caused Lawson to stop right in the middle of hacking through a tough fern. Ethan hadn't heard the noise and he walked right into the stationary Lawson, who jumped at the sudden feeling of touch. Ethan tripped and Lawson quickly drew his rifle, ready to fend off anything that might come for Ethan in his vulnerable position.

There was silence. And then there wasn't.

An earth-shattering shrieking roar came from the bushes just a few yards from Ethan. It almost sounded like a mythical banshee. Lawson took quick aim and fired blindly into the brush, but it wasn't quick enough. A creature that neither man had seen before scurried quickly to Ethan and tackled him to the ground. The creature was easily thirty feet long and almost as tall as the two grown men. It stank horribly and hot saliva dripped from its mouth onto Ethan's face. Ethan screamed as the creature dug its claws into his shoulders. Lawson regained his composure, aimed his rifle once more, and fired. This shot hit the creature in the right leg. Immediately, the creature shrieked in pain and made its retreat, leaving Ethan in an injured heap on the ground. The attack was over in less than ten seconds, but those seconds had ticked by like hours in Lawson's mind.

Lawson grabbed Ethan's hand and pulled him up. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Heh. I guess you were right about this island."

"What should we do?" Ethan asked.

"Well..." Lawson looked longingly towards the site of the fort. "This creature has just given us the message that we're in its territory. But..."

"But?!" Ethan asked, bewildered. "But?!"

"Listen," Lawson said slowly. "I've shot the creature. It knows we're not to be trifled with now. Maybe it'll even bleed to death. I think we can continue."

"But..."

"Do not debate me! You won't win. You're either with me or you're not. But if you're not with me, you'll be alone. And injured. Vulnerable. God knows what else is on this island. Face it, Ethan. You need me now. So stay with me or die."

Ethan opened his mouth as if to say something, but he immediately closed it and sighed in defeat. "You're right," he said. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right. Now...let's continue forward." The two men walked into a small clearing, more wary than ever now on account of the attack that had occurred just moments before. Every single wisp of wind caught their attention. The rattling of leaves, the bending and breaking of tree branches. Lawson even swore he heard the rattling breath again, fainter this time, distant. But it was probably just the wind. Yes, Lawson thought, just the wind. They were careful not to make too much noise themselves, but this was near impossible with fallen and dead vegetation surrounding them in this area. The air started to stink; not the same stink as the unknown creature, no, this had an almost familiar air to it.

"Ammonia," Lawson explained. "For some reason this place is where creatures come to piss."

"Aside from the smell," said Ethan, "how do you figure?"

"See all the dead vegetation?" Lawson asked. "In low doses, ammonia can actually be good for plants. But too much ammonia can dramatically increase the acidity of soil, making it infertile and incapable of supporting plant life."

"So there's some sort of latrine animal in this area," Ethan concluded. "A creature that comes here regularly and, ahem, does their business."

"Most likely," Lawson said. "Might be that creature that attacked you. Might be something else entirely. But again, that's not our concern. Have you found any signs of the fort yet?"

"Wait..." Ethan looked closely at a patch of vines that grew down from a tree on the edge of the clearing. He thought he could see the fain semblance of rock...

"Look out!" Lawson shouted. Ethan turned around just in time to see the same creature leaping through the air right at him! Lawson drew the rifle again, but his hands were so sweaty from the anxiety and fear of earlier that he accidentally dropped the gun. Lawson swore as he bent to pick it up, but by the time he had lifted the gun again, the creature had finished Ethan off. He was now devouring him. Ethan's torso had been cut open and the creature was eating Ethan's liver. It looked up at Lawson and snarled when it saw the gun. Part of Ethan's liver hung from its mouth. It was revolting. Lawson recoiled in disgust, turned around, and vomited. The creature took this opportunity to charge at Lawson, but Lawson had the gun up again and, curiously, the creature paused this time. Almost as if it had _learned_ how dangerous the gun was.

Frozen in fear, Lawson tried to relax himself as the creature circled about twenty feet away from him. Lawson watched the creature in shock and fascination. Why hadn't it attacked him yet? The creature snarled and bore its bloodstained teeth at Lawson. The creature had horn-like protrusions on its head, a very short snout, and a body like a crocodile. But despite the fact that it walked on all fours, this was no crocodile. It was charcoal black with bright golden stripes along its back. Lawson didn't know what this thing was, but he didn't want to find out. The two locked eyes, and for a moment, Lawson thought he could see something in the creature's eyes. Something he had never seen in another animal's eyes. The creature was _thinking_. It was _calculating_ its next move. It wasn't an animal driven on instinct alone. This was a very intelligent adversary.

Lawson tensed his finger on the trigger, preparing to fire. The creature's response was very quick and decisive. It covered the twenty feet distance in less than a second, just by leaping forward with its powerful hind legs. The creature swatted the gun out of Lawson's hand and turned its back to him to stomp on it. The gun barrel bent beyond repair and Lawson knew he was done for. The creature turned slowly back to Lawson and stared at him for just a second. Almost mocking him. He had outsmarted his prey. Lawson took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and accepted his fate.

* * *

**Thank you for reading the introduction to my newest fanfiction novel! Stay tuned for the first chapter, where we'll meet our primary protagonists. Please note I do not own the rights to any Jurassic Park movies, books, or digital media. **


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